We didn't get kicked out.
Yeah, people did stare a little, but the lady who led us to our table didn't even blink. I guess she was just used to weirder shit than a couple of college students dressed up like some crazy circus deserters. Or she just got paid enough to ignore it.
I laughed out loud when I noticed two candles waiting for us on our table. The inside of the restaurant was beautiful, with light colors and Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. Our table stood under one of the huge windows showing the restaurant's little park, now covered thoroughly with snow. I wasn't used to going to places like that, because well, anorexia. I recalled only one time when my parents took me to an elegant restaurant. I was probably around eight or nine and it was on the day of their wedding anniversary. It was just a few weeks before Mom discovered she was pregnant and I was informed I was going to have a baby brother. When Teddy came along, we could no longer visit places like that, since Mom just couldn't seem to bring herself to leave him with a nanny as she went out to have fun. And let's just say my little brother wasn't the quietest kind of a kid.
After he grew up a little and we were positive we could share him with the outside world without getting kicked out, my... problems came along. My treatment took most of my parents' time – and money – so they didn't really have the head to worry about little pleasures like that. That's probably what I hated most about anorexia. It wasn't just about how much it destroyed me. It was about how much it drained my loved ones.
And even though I was doing better right now, a little part of me still hated myself for what I made them come through.
That's why I didn't protest when Dominic made me devour a dinner consisting of three meals and a dessert. It seemed to do something to him – seeing me eat my food like a good girl. He even scooped some of his portion from his plate and placed it on mine when he thought no one was looking.
He also ordered a bottle of wine, which I slurped rather reluctantly. I knew what was going to happen if I washed the amount of food I've consumed down with alcohol. And I really didn't want to ruin the night for him by returning everything I've just eaten the same way it came. This food was way too good to simply throw it right up. Not to mention the waste of money.
Speaking of money...
For the whole evening, I've been occupying myself with wondering about how he was able to afford to take me to a place like that. Dominic didn't let me look into the menu to check the prices, – and still somehow managed to order something I liked, which was another thing that amazed me tonight – but I assumed they weren't small. I mean, hello. We were sitting in the most expensive restaurant in town, after all.
At first, I told myself I could let it go. I kept convincing myself that if a guy offered a girl a date in a nice place, she wasn't supposed to worry about the costs but enjoy the evening. But being the girl who was brought up in a family which wasn't poor by all means, but always kept an eye on money, I had a hard time accepting it. So when I saw the waiter approach our table with yet another portion of food, – which turned out to be a piece of chocolate cake, true to his word – I couldn't bite my tongue for much longer.
"How are we even here?" I fired when the waiter was at a distance safe enough to not be able to hear us.
Dominic lifted his gaze from where he was digging his spoon into his piece of cake and fixed his intense eyes on me.
"What do you mean?" Confusion sparkled in his hazel irises.
I rolled the words around in my mouth, wondering how to put it.
"I mean-" I bit the inside of my cheek, collecting myself long enough to know I wasn't going to come up with something stupid. "I doubt it you are going to let me share the bill, right?"
One side of his lips lifted, showing off his dimple.
"Not a chance."
"Right." I nodded. "Which means you're planning on paying for it all by yourself."
"It's not just planning. Believe it or not, Sweetie, but I'm really going to do it once we're finished."
I took a deep breath.
"Which means you're going to spend a small fortune on one dinner and a chocolate cake." The second the words came out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. It wasn't supposed to sound like that. "I mean, I know this place is quite... extravagant and so the prices can't be low, so I just thought that maybe -"
"Sweetie."
"No, but really, I don't want you to starve for the entire semester just because you felt obliged to take me somewhere -"
"Sweetie."
"And I'm all flattered and happy that you're willing to spend so much money on me, but I would be even happier if you just let me -"
I didn't get to finish because Dominic decided to interrupt my ramble by reaching over the table and putting a finger on my mouth. The second his skin touched mine, I froze, my eyes zeroing on his forefinger. I was partly aware that I was probably sporting a squint right now, but his gesture took me so off-guard that I didn't seem to be able to do anything apart of staring with my mouth still forming the word pay.
"We're not splitting the bill, Sweetie." He said in a low voice, holding his eyes with mine. "So I'd suggest you keep your pretty mouth shut and enjoy your dessert because the conversation you were about to start is not going anywhere. Got it?"
I opened my mouth beneath his finger.
"But -"
"No. If I wanted you to argue with me, I'd just burst into your apartment and took up residence on your couch. And maybe even ate some of your muffins." He added, as if on afterthought. "But I didn't want to, so I took you here so that we could spend the evening nicely, just like normal, civilized people. And the last thing I want tonight is to get into a fight because I'm simply tired of them."
Dominic's finger left my mouth and he leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath. I just sat there, staring at him, not moving an inch even after he left my personal space.
"You said that me bringing you here made you happy." He went on, this time quieter so that I had to lean in a bit to hear him. "You know what makes me happy? Seeing how you enjoy something I gave you, even if it's just a stupid dinner with candles, cooked and served by someone else."
In the dim light of the candle, I think I saw a muscle in his jaw feathering.
"So if you are feeling as grateful as you claim you do, then please, let me enjoy my little moment of happiness. That's all... " He looked away, clearing his throat. "That's all the payback I need or want."
He fell silent after that and I didn't open my mouth, too. I was still in a little shock after his little speech. There were a thousand thoughts a minute running through my head, and even more words forming at the tip of my tongue, waiting to be spoken. But instead of doing just that, I simply took my spoon in hand and dug into my cake. Maybe it was because I was worried that whatever I might say was going to ruin his little moment of happiness, as he'd put it. Or just that everything I might have said seemed bland in comparison to what he'd just told me.
Or maybe it was just the fact that even despite all my concerns, I was experiencing my own little moment of happiness. And I didn't want to destroy it.
~*~
The rest of the date was spent in silence. It wasn't that we were angry with each other or anything like that. Munching on my share of chocolate goodness and washing it down with the rest of my wine, I was lost in my own thoughts. And judging by the few glances in his direction when I thought he wasn't looking, he was just as lost as I was.
When the bill came, I kept my mouth shut. It was a hard task, but seeing the satisfaction on his face when he placed the money in the little box provided (yes, it was the kind of restaurant that had boxes meant to place your money in), I somehow managed to bite my tongue and keep quiet.
The ride home was also quite uneventful. He'd given me back my hat that was now smelling like him. I didn't even know that a stupid hat could catch someone's smell, but apparently, it was possible.
Dominic parked Sally in front of my building and turned off the engine. I began to unbuckle, but stopped, seeing he hasn't made a move. I looked at him questioningly, but he kept staring ahead. I had no idea what his deal was but decided I was going to get to know in a moment and just busied myself with watching the snowflakes swirl around outside of my window.
I didn't have to wait long. I was just drawing a little heart on the fogged-over window when I heard him sigh.
"I'm sorry I didn't give you a fitting present." He said.
I blinked. Well, that was not what I was expecting. The man kept surprising me every day.
"You mean the perfume?" I asked, turning to him. "It's no biggie. You couldn't have known."
"Yeah, but I should have asked you if you liked it first."
"And ruin the surprise?" I raised a brow. "Where's the fun in that?"
I've been trying to make him smile and my chest warmed the moment I saw that I succeeded. One side of his lips stretched up slightly, forming that infamous smirk of his.
"Yeah. In the twenty-one years of my life, I haven't ever seen anyone sneezing so furiously. I guess it was worth the show."
I snorted and punched him in the arm. His smirked widened a second before it disappeared from his face completely.
"But seriously." He said, his tone all business once again. "Just a dinner is not enough."
I stared at him.
"Not enough? You call this not enoug-"
I paused, not quite believing we were having this conversation. I had no idea what had gotten into him, but if he didn't man up and stop acting like a guilty vagina soon, I was going to be pissed at him for a very different reason.
"Listen." I tried again when I was sure my voice was steady. "I don't think you realize how much this evening meant to me."
His head turned towards me and he opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him by speaking again.
"No one has ever done this much to just make me happy. I mean, I did get presents for birthdays, but none of them came even close to what you've given me. And I'm not just talking about the food and the chocolate cake, which, by the way, was awesome."
I paused to see if he smiled, even a little bit. Seeing that he did, I smiled myself and went on, encouraged.
"I'm talking about the time you've given me. I'm talking about the sheer will of making me happy, even if it cost you a fortune." I was surprised to find my voice trembling and feel the burning at the back of my throat. "I'm talking about barging in there in my cap just so I wouldn't feel embarrassed. I'm talking about the food you scooped onto my plate, even if you needed it more than me."
I was on a roll now, speaking faster than I was thinking.
"I'm talking about your little moment of happiness, and that it was connected with me."
My voice wavered at the last word and it took me a moment to compose myself.
"I'm talking about telling me I was beautiful." I finished quietly, staring at my Moon Boots.
And then, when he didn't react, I did something that surprised even me. I leaned over the console and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you." I whispered before pulling away.
And with that, I opened my door and came out, straight into the snowfall.
I was planning on leaving right then, then locking myself in my bedroom and wondering what the hell I've just done. But I was stopped by the sound of the door closing followed by feet crunching on snow. Before I knew it, I was being turned around and surrounded by a pair of arms, pulling me into a warm body. A second later Dominic's breath danced over my lips just before they were covered with his.
This time, just like the first, he's taken me off-guard. The only difference was that this time, it didn't take me so long to react. Pressing myself further into the welcoming heat of his body, I returned the kiss, feeling it with all the gratitude and happiness I was feeling.
When we parted our breaths were coming out in soft pants, forming white clouds in the tiny space between us. Dominic didn't lift his head, but laid his forehead on mine, lining our noses together. I smiled, realizing just now that he tasted of chocolate cake.
"How is it that every time we kiss, we do it in the snowfall?" Dominic asked in a low voice.
I giggled, bumping my nose against his.
"I don't know. But I don't complain."
"Good."
His lips brushed against mine once more, too quick to even call it a kiss. Then he took a small step back and stared at me.
"What?" I asked when he didn't stop looking at me for a disturbing amount of time.
One corner of his mouth lifted.
"Can I say something corny?" He asked.
"I have a feeling that you're going to say it anyway." I lifted a shoulder.
He bit his lip as he kept watching me with bright eyes.
"I wish the snow fell more often." He said after a moment.
I blinked a second before I burst into a fit of laughter so violent that it brought tears to my eyes. I had to bend in half because my body shook so hard I was afraid I would fall. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I laughed this hard.
"Omigod, that was corny." I managed to choke out when my laughing session died off a little. "You should be ashamed... Of yourself... For even thinking that."
I wiped the tears from my eyes and straightened, meeting his gaze. The smile didn't fade from my face as he stepped closer to me and brushed his lips across my forehead.
"With you?" He whispered, his mouth brushing my skin. "Never."